Hot Pinks As Art – Finding Beauty In Details

We’ve been pretty obsessed with mushrooms since we first started growing them in recycled coffee grounds almost a decade ago. During the years since, we’ve spent a lot of time observing their quirks and getting to know every step of the growing process, and how to make it reliable.

Through working with this natural organism so closely, we very quickly began to see the beauty in its curious ways! That’s why we were so pleased when we found out about Catherine Rose Brook ‘s amazing mushroom art project. Her work focused on Hot Pink Oyster Mushrooms, and captures some of the subtle details of the mushrooms’ journey and struck a chord with us mushroom lovers here at EMC.

Catherine’s collection of fine art photos were taken as part of the final project of her degree in which she focused on mushroom spores and mushroom growth. Being keenly interested in the natural world, our mushrooms seemed to be a perfect subject matter for her. As she puts it:

‘My work is an inspiration of the convergence of art and science, in particular biology. I take influence from organic life and work to explore the specimens in more detail in order to engage and educate audiences on aspects of the natural world which may be missed. My images seek to inform those on the aspects of mushrooms that aren’ t usually focused on’

Catherine’s work was featured last year in an exhibition at London Gallery West at the University of Westminster. She’s hoping to progress to work as part of research teams using art to encourage school children and those who are interested in the beauty in nature.

One of the art’s most powerful consequences is its ability to change our viewpoint. Sometimes it’s not just about elevating it. There’s a lot to be said for focusing in on the minutiae of a moment. Here’s to celebrating the vibrancy and finer points in nature’s details.

If you know of any other instances of mushrooms being used in art, drop us an email or leave a comment below. We’d love to feature more great work like Catherine’s in our future fungi blogs.